Check Out Those Chompers!
April 20, 2011
Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo has confirmed their newest swinging sensation, a baby white-cheeked gibbon, is a boy – and boy is he cute! The 3-month-old critically endangered ape has also been given a name. “The baby has been named Sai, (pronounced ‘sigh’), which means ‘son’ in Burmese said Lincoln Park Zoo Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy. “He is the third offspring – all sons – for the mother Burma and father Caruso.” Lincoln Park Zoo is significantly involved in ape conservation efforts in the wild to help secure a long term future for endangered apes.
“Sai has been transforming right before my eyes over the last 3 months,” said Leahy. “His hair is beginning to darken in color, his baby teeth have grown in – he’s got an impressive set of choppers – and he’s already starting to venture an arm’s length away from his mother, reaching out to test his long arms on hanging vines,” said Leahy. Check out the chompers on this little guy below!
Photo credits: #1 and #2 John Kortas, #3 Anita Yantz, #4 Lisa Rank (below)
White-cheeked gibbons are native to parts of southeastern Asia. They are unique in that the males are black with white fur on their cheeks, and the females are tan colored. Gibbon infants are born the same golden tan color as their mothers, but by age two will turn black. The males will remain black while the females will turn back to golden tan once they reach sexual maturity.